Evil Mastermind
by mfaeinhfk ahilfajkdha
Summary: Makarov is missing! And it's up to Team Natsu and Laxus to bring him back to safety!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Black Bandit**

Another day, another mission, another unsuspecting something to destroy.

At least to Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster, that was how their world worked.

It was unintentional of course, but their silly little arguments always lead to a battle of fire against ice. Who was big enough to stop it all from happening?

"There goes our reward yet again," Lucy Heartfilia said with a sigh. The wind blew strands of blonde hair into her eyes as the team walked away from what seemed like a destructed village.

"At least all the villagers are safe," Erza Scarlet said calmly. "Ain't that right?"

"Yeah, isn't that what's important?" Natsu said with a giant grin on his face. Happy, Natsu's pet cat, walked alongside him. Gray wasn't far behind, barechested, with his hands in his pockets and not saying a word.

"What's up with Gray?" Lucy asked.

"Him?" Natsu said. "He's just disappointed 'cause I won the last battle...again!" He threw his head back and laughed while punching the air with his fist.

"Aye!" Happy piped up.

"Shut up," Gray muttered as he quickened his pace to catch up with the rest.

"Oh come on, man, don't be such a sore loser!" Natsu said jokingly. Gray's frown deepened and he clenched his fist.

"Why you little—" he growled, his hands extending forward as if to attack. Natsu sensed this and a flame of fire burst from his hand.

"Alright, bring it on Gray!" he exclaimed. "Fire Dragon C-" but before he could finish, he felt someone grab his hair and pull his head forward and suddenly, wham! He felt something hit against his head, hard. The grip loosened and he fell to the ground. Natsu groaned and rubbed his head in pain. Happy immediately skipped to his side.

"Oww! Geez Erza, what was that for?" Gray whined, rubbing his forehead.

"That," Erza ecplained as she slapped her hands against each other to dust them off, "was for picking a fight with each other in public."

"Public?" Natsu cried, clearly enraged.

"You know what I mean, Natsu," Erza said with a sly smile.

"Yeah, you know what she means," Lucy piped up.

"No, I don't!" Natsu said, pouting his bottom lip forward and rolling his eyes.

"Yes you do!" Happy said, jumping up and down.

"Shut up!"

Erza chuckled under her breath as they continued their journey home. Halfway through town, Lucy suggested that they take a carriage and go through the shortcut through the woods, so they can come back to the guild sooner. Everyone agreed, except for Natsu, who suffers motion sickness. But nevertheless, the manage to change his mind at the mention of 'Igneel'.

"Oh yeah, maybe they have news of him!" Natsu said, sounding almost excited.

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" Natsu took a step forward and put two fingers in his mouth and blew, creating a high-pitched shrill whistling sound. Lucy and Happy covered their ears and winced, while Erza and Gray patiently waited.

A horse-drawn carriage soon approached then and they all piled in. Natsu held his breath and braced himself for the upcoming sickness. Lucy giggled at the sight of him.

Oh Natsu, always making a big deal of things!

"Where off to, kids?" the coachman asked.

"Hargeon Woods," Lucy said.

"Then take the shortcut to Magnolia Town," added Erza.

The coachman gave a small nod and cracked his whip. The horses whinied and the carriage lurched forward and before they knew it, Natsu went all pale, his eyes narrowed to slits and his mouth hung wide open, as if to throw up.

The carriage bounced over potholes and small rocks, and Natsu still wasn't looking any better. Soon they entered the woods. The trees blocked most of the sunlight, but light was still able to pass through. About halfway through the journey, Lucy was starting to doze off, Happy was already asleep on top of Natsu's head, Gray was looking down at his feet and Erza was staring out the window and enjoying the view.

As for Natsu, well, you all know how he is with moving vehicles.

We shouldn't be far now, Erza thought.

The further they pushed on in the woods, the thicker the trees became. Hardly any sunlight was able to reach them this time. The tree branches also became more crooked and twisted, the trunks more gnarled and the atmosphere more sinister.

"Something isn't right," Gray muttered to himself.

The horses let out a nervous whinny, as if to agree with Gray, and moved slower and more careful. The coachman had lit a lantern but as the day was growing darker and the trees became denser, the couldn't see any much farther than arm's length, more or less.

"Hey Natsu, care to transform to a human torch?" Erza asked in a tone that seemed to make it sound as if she was just joking. All eyes turned to him.

Natsu was lying in an awkward position; his arms were stiffly pinned to his sides, one of his legs limply dangled from the seat, his eyes were shut tight and his mouth hung open with saliva drooling at the side of his lips.

"Forget it, he's out," Gray said with a roll of his eyes.

Lucy looked around nervously and shivered. She had never been fond of the dark.

"Erza, where exactly are we?" Happy asked in a timid voice.

Erza didn't answer him, for she didn't have one.

"Shouldn't we just turn around?" Lucy suggested silently.

"Not a good idea," Gray answered. "No matter which way we move, it's almost impossible to see where we're going." He then stood up and pushed Erza aside, sticking his head out the window.

"Hey you!" he called out to the coachman. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

The coachman gave no reply.

"Hello?" Gray yelled out to him. "Did you hear what I just said?"

Still no answer.

"Dammit, he's useless, too!" Gray complained aloud.

"Be patient, boy," the coachman said.

Lucy hugged her knees to her chest. Her breaths were small and shallow and sweat were dripping down her forehead at a rapid pace even though the air was startingly cold. Happy waddled over to her and gave a her a hug, in attempt to warm himself up to. Lucy smiled and stroked his head.

"Smoke is coming out of my mouth," Gray suddenly announced.

Erza turned to face him. "What?"

"Look," Gray said as he drew in a sharp breath and let it out. Sure enough, white puffs of smoke came out of his mouth.

Happy playfully began blowing at his paws and giggled silently at the puffs that were coming out of his mouth. In a way of trying to calm his nerves down, this was helping a little.

"Winter in the middle of the woods?" Lucy suggested.

"Don't be daft, Luce!" Gray said.

"But it's possible, right?" she said.

"Look around you, Luce!" Gray said, raising his voice. "There is no snow around, is there?"

"Does it have to snow to show that it's winter?" Lucy was up on her feet and yelling.

"God Luce, you're such a blonde!" Gray complained with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey, hey, no need to fight," Erza said trying to calm them down.

Gray and Lucy paid no attention to Erza and continued to proceeded to each other.

Suddenly, though she could've been imagining it, Erza's ears perked up as she heard the faint sound of a clown's horn.

She stuck her head out the window and listened as hard as she could, but it wasn't easy since Gray and Lucy were still bickering behind her back.

"Well, I think you should keep your thoughts to yourself!"

"Well, I think you should keep your mouth shut!"

"Guys, shh!" Erza hushed them, but again she was ignored.

Honk honk!

And there it was again, the recognizable sound of a clown's horn. It sounded distinctively louder this time and Erza craned her neck in order to find its source.

"Oi! Guys!" Erza warned. "Zip it!"

But Gray and Lucy's argument just got louder and louder.

"Hey guys!" Happy tried. "Erza has somet—" but the carriage went over a large cobblestone and he thrown into the air before he could finish.

"Aah oof!" Happy cried as his head hit the ceiling and landed face first on the floor.

"Well, aren't you a little fiend?"

"Shut the fuck up, you have no right!"

"Hell yeah I do!"

Honk honk!

"Guys, cut it out!"

"God, if you weren't in my team, I'd—"

"Oh yeah? What would you do? Ha! You can't even answer me!"

"GUYS!"

BOOM!

Screams of anger turned into shrieks of fright and panic as the carriage blew up into smithereens. Everyone was thrown in every direction. The horses have had enough surprises for one day. Whinying in fright, they galloped off into the darkness, abandoning the rest of the company.

The sight of the woods weren't pretty. Bits and pieces of wood were scattered everywhere and embers were starting to show signs that they were going to turn themselves into a forest fire.

"Ughh... What happened?" Lucy groaned as she tried to get back up. Her arms and legs were scratched and scatherd, as of the others as well, except for Erza, whose armor protected most of her upper body.

"Who cares?" Natsu cried in delight at the fact that the carriage was demolished. He let out a terrifyingly happy roar and turned himself into a human bonfire. The others jumped in shock. They had completely forgotten about him.

"About time," Gray grumbled in pain.

As soon as the situation sunk in, everyone started talking all at once.

"What the fuck just happened?"

"Is everyone alright?"

"Happy?

"Aye... I'm here, Natsu..."

"Happy! What are you doing up there?"

"My keys! Has anyone seen my keys?"

"Everyone, calm down!" Erza yelled over the commotion. "There's gotta be some logical explanation for this."

"Explanation?" Gray exclaimed. "They're gonna do a whole lot more than just explaining! By the way Luce, your keys..." He tossed them over to Lucy, who caught it mid-air.

Lucy smiled at him. "Thanks! And sorry about before..."

He smiled back at her. "Yeah, me too..."

"Well I'm glad you guys made up," Erza said. "But we have more important things to take care of, like the fact that our carriage exploded and the horses took off; we have by no means, no others ways of going back to the guild, except walking."

"That's waaay better!" Natsu said cheerfully.

He's a pretty optimistic guy, Lucy thought. But then again, he does have a problem with vehicles.

"Speaking of which," Natsu continued. "What happened to the coachman?"

"Yeah, wasn't he supp—"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Fairy Tail?"a sinister voice suddenly spoke. All heads immediately tunred in shock.

"Who's there?" Erza called out. "Show yourself!"

"We'll show ourselves when we feel like it," the voice replied.

Happy's eyes widened. "W-we?"

"Why yes, my dear little cat," the voice rang out. "We!" Suddenly, Happy was snatched into the air. Before anyone could move a muscle, he vanished.

"Happy!" Natsu screamed as Happy disappeared into nothingness. "You bastard! Give Happy back!"

"I'm afraid you must battle us first," the mysterious voice replied.

"A fight, you say? Alright! I'm all fired up!" Natsu let out a fiery roar and an orangish-red aura enveloped him.

"Oh boy..." Gray muttered, fearing the worst.

"Show yourselves!" Natsu yelled again. The sound of rustling leaves and broken branches were heard as the Fairy Tail team kept their heads up. It was all very creepy, considering the fact that they were in almost absolute darkness.

They waited for a few more moments, but there was still no sign of the enemy.

"Cowardly brutes," Natsu mumbled to himself, but at the same time, something started coiliing itself around his ankles and before he knew it, he was dangling upside down.

"Arrrgh!"

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out as he was dangled upside down from what looked like coils of thick, black rope. Natsu reached up and tried to burn them but he couldn't quite reach. He flailed around and flung his arms out, but to no avail.

"Sureprise, surprise," a woman voice cooed out from the darkness. She was wearing an open red coat with gold buttons and matching red shorts and black boots. In her hands were some whips.

Suddenly Lucy heard an odd growling sound behind her and to her horror, three pairs of feline eyes stared back at her.

"Lucy, look out!" hollered Natsu and he threw a fireball in their direction. It landed exactly between Lucy and the eyes. The creatures growled in dismay as Lucy stiffled a scream as heatwave blasted against her face. She quickly scrambled out of the way but was caught up by a big burly man. She gasped and froze in fear.

"Where do you think you're going, lady?" he grunted and gripped her arm. She fought back and fumbled with the keys at the same time.

"Let go of me you bastard!" she scremed at him. Raged by her words, he instinctively raised his fist and punched Lucy in the face. Lucy let out a cry of pain as she struggle to fight back the tears. The man placed his arm on her knees and hauled Lucy over his shoulders.

"Miriade, follow me," he said to the woman and she bounded off after him.

"Hey! Where are you taking Lucy?" Natsu shouted at the man in anger and threw another fireball at him, but he easily dodged it. Usually, he would've done something worse if anyone hurt her, but that was the best he could do at the moment.

"Erza! Gray! Look out!" Lucy let out a pained yell and both turned around to face their different opponents. "Don't worry abut me Natsu, save yourself!"

"Oof!" Gray fell back as a thin, lean man wearing a top hat and coat with tails faced him from above.

"Greetings, o wild one," the man said. He then whipped up some colored handkerchiefs tied to each other and lashed it out at his direction.

"Magic? Wha-whoa!" Gray tumbled back down as the handkerchief began to tie itself up around Gray.

"Argh! What are these things?" he cried aloud. He tried to break loose but the more he struggled, the tighter the ropes wound around him, and pretty soon he was starting to suffocate.

Ugh, what's going on? Why are we beaten so easily? He thought in despair.

"You guys are more weaklier than I thought," the man in black mocked.

Natsu's face reddened with rage. "Don't you dare call us weaklings! Fire Dragon—mmpfhh!" More black ropes whipped around his face and forced its way into Natsu's mouth and gagged him.

Suddenly, a loud-ear splitting scream pierced through the air.

"Umm-phyy!" Natsu tried to call, but was muffled by the gag.

"Erza!" Gray screamed. "Do something!"

Erza, who had been fighting girls with cat-like features that kept on cloning themselves, was having a hard time answering him. "I'm trying the best I can, Gray!" She pushed and shoved her way through and finally made it out into the open. She rushed towards her friends and wham! She fell back.

"What? What is this?" she felt the air in front of her, which turned out to be not air at all. It was glass. Panicking she felt the spaces around her, all felt the same. It was unmistakable; she was trapped in a glass box.

"Hey, what is the meaning of this! Let me out!" Erza yelled angrily as she hammered the glass walls with her fist. When that didn't work, she drew out her sword and started stabbing the glass with force. But it didn't even leave a single scratch.

"Wh-what is this madness?" Erza gasped, horror-stricken.

"As, just as I expected," the mysterious voice piped up again. "My army is a far stronger one than yours."

Gray still struggled to break free. "That's not true!"

"Oh? Then explain your situation."

Erza fell to her knees and sighed. As much she hated to admit it, she admitted that they were strong. Stronger than she expected them to be.

"Well, we're not going to give up!" Gray bellowed. "We are Fairy Tail mages, we don't quit!"

Erza looked up again, feeling a spark of hope ignited in her heart and a plan formulate in her head. Now if only she could pass it on to her teammates, could they hear her from behind the glass?

There's only one way to find out.

"Natsu! Gray! Can you hear—".

Smash!

Erza screamed as a spear whizzed past her armor just by inches and broke the glass into a million little pieces.

"What?" Erza and the mysterious voice cried out in astonishment.

Whomp! It sounded like someone had been carelessly thron onto the ground.

"Lucy!" Gray said.

"Umm-phyy!" Natsu's muffled voice rang out nearly at the same time.

Bearing her new-found freedom, Erza took no time to get into action. Smoke billowed around her and her armor changed into The Knight.

"Dance, my swords!" she commanded and her swords began whizzing this way and that, heading towards the enemies, attacking them one by one.

"Guauuh!" the man in coat tails fell back and landed on his back. The girls, however, were a much harder target. They bent back, twisted their bodies gracefully as the swords swooshed past. It didn't touch them one bit.

"I'm afraid your swords won't do us any harm, Erza Scarlet," they said in a robotic monotone and their eyes flashed bright green.

"Feline nail gun!" they hollered and stretched out their arms and their fingernails suddenly started shooting at Erza. Erza was horror stricken, never in her life has she seen anything like that. Suddenly, she fell back. Heaven knows how, none of the nails hit her. Instead, she heard strange clanging sounds and soon, they subsided.

"Who are you?" Gray called out.

Erza sat up and saw a hooded figure in front of her. Her cloak was swaying in the breeze and Erza could see that she was wearing a tattered, black dress and was barefooted.

The figure turned to look at her. "Are you okay?" From her voice, it was clear that this was a girl.

Erza blinked. "Yes, but who—"

Suddenly, the mysterious girl said, "Quick, hand me that stick!"

"What?"

"The stick! Hurry!"

Erza looked to her side and saw what the girl was tlaking about. She grabbed it and handed it to her and the girl ran forward to where the feline girls were standing.

"You are no match for the twenty-four of us, girl!" the felines hollered and prepared for another attack. One by one, all their other clones disappeared, leaving only two identical twins behind.

"Grimalkin attack!" they bellowed at the same time and they joined bodies and morphed into something entirely different. The whole team watched in shock as the girls became a tomcat with piercing green eyes and giant paws and claws. The cloaked girl paid no mind, instead she kept running. But as she ran, the stick in her hand started transforming. As if was covered in ice, It grew longer and smoother. One end widened and got sharper towards its end. Carves engraved its side and the ice exploded, letting out a loud tinkly noise as it did so. Before she launched her attack at the wild tomcat, she reached for something underneath her cloak and threw it in Natsu and Gray's directions, freeing them from their bonds.

"Waaah, oowgh!" Natsu grumbled as his face hit the hard ground.

"Arc of embodiment," Erza said in a hushed voice.

The tomcat pounced at her and the cloaked figure dodged it gracefully, sliding underneath its belly. The tomcat started clawing at the ground, narrowly missing the girl.

"Look out!" Lucy called out as one of the tomcat's claws was ready to scratch the cloaked girl's face. She quickly rolled out of the way and its claw was entrangled with her cloak.

That halted the cloaked girl for a while, as it was choking her. The tomcat decided to take advantage of this and began messing about with the cloak.

But the girl was smart enough to cut through the button that held it together and soon freed herself. She let out a war cry and threw the spear into the tomcat's stomach. Instantly, it started to take effect. Ice started to spread through the wound and further back. The tomcat stopped its inconsistent attacks and began hurling its claws at its stomach as a sign of panic, but its claws were too big to get hold of the spear and the ice started to spread all over its legs and body.

Everybody watched in astonishment, especially Gray.

The cloaked girl smiled to herself and quickly scrambled out of the way, grabbing her cloak and putting it back on. By the time she was back on her feet, a good feet away from the tomcat, it was already completely frozen solid. It leaned a little towards the left and and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"Whoa," Natsu gasped.

"Yeah, whoa," Gray echoed.

The cloaked girl stared at the mess, the mess that everyone help created. "I don't like it when people trash around the forest," she said quietly.

Erza was the first one to speak up. "Yes, of course, uhm, I'm—we're sorry..."

"No, it's alright," the cloaked girl said. "I can tell this is not your fault."

"You can?" Erza said, confused.

The girl nodded. "Yes, I saw you."

"You saw us?" Natsu exclaimed. "Well, if you saw us, why didn't you help us earlier?"

"I only saw your carriage passing by," the girl replied. "By the time you were attacked, I was halfway home."

"Where is your home?" Lucy asked.

The girl pointed somewhere into the woods. "There. Oh, and here's your cat." She reached into the bushed behind her and took out Happy by the tail. He was knocked unconcious. The girl threw him to Natsu's direction.

"Happy!" Natsu exclaimed. "I was worried!"

"I must go," the girl said suddenly and silently, and with that, she ran off.

"Hey, wait!" Erza called out to her.

But she was gone.

"Who was she?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Gray said. "But she sure is amazing."

"Yeah, amazing," Natsu echoed.

"Does she belong anywhere, I wonder?" Lucy asked herself.

"I hope she doesn't," Natsu said. "Fairy Tail could use a mage like her!"

"As if we don't already have srong mages already," Gray commented.

"Hey, the more the merrier," Natsu said, grinning.

"Well, whoever she was," Erza spoke up. "I hope she's doing okay now." Her armor had already returned back to normal.

"Oh, I'm sure she is!" Gray exclaimed. "You saw how she kicked all their asses out there! She's a total badass!"

"Yeah, what a bandit," Natsu said dreamily.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Bandit?" Lucy repeated. "A bandit's a thief!"

"But bandit's dress in all black, don't they?" Natsu pointed out. The stares went on. "Sorry, I just have no other words to call her."

"Well, black bandit doesn't sound half bad, if I do say so myself," Erza said, smiling a little.

"Well, the next time I see her, I'll be asking her name," Gray said. "Now, let's just go home."

"Yeah, home..." Lucy said softly.

And off they went, talking and chatting about the things they were going to tell Makarov and the others when they get back.

Little did they know, Black Bandit had been hanging up on the tree above them, listening to every word they said. She couldn't help but smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Dark Guild**

As soon as the team arrived back at the guild, they were all worn out; their faces were caked in dirt, their clothes were mangy, their hair matted and scars and bruises covered every inch of their body. They had walked all their way back.

"We're not risking anymore rides," Natsu had said. As soon as they burst through the door, the other guild members gathered around them.

"Where have you guys been?" Mirajane Strauss exclaimed. "You should've been here days ago. Master's been—oh my, what happened?" Surprise was soon replaced by concern.

"You wouldn't believe us even if we told you," Natsu said and proceeded to tell them about their journey, with Lucy, Gray and Erza piping up every once in a while if he missed a detail.

There was a stunned silence when they finished.

"Some girl you encountered there," Gajeel Redfox commented. "We could use someone like her."

"That's what we thought," Erza said. "Until she ran away, that is."

"I wonder why she ran away..." Wendy Marvell wondered aloud.

"Yeah, why?" Levy McGarden echoed.

Erza just shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe she doesn't like being around people."

"How can anyone live in solitary like that?" Gray said. "Living in the woods all alone, she's gotta feel lonely sometimes."

Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed. "But if she ever changes her mind, we won't hesitate to accept."

Mirajane giggled. "It is some story you told, I must say, but Master is waiting, so I suggest you get some rest and change. Master is anxious to see you all."

"You called us, Master?" Lucy asked carefully as she peered into his office.

"Ah, Lucy," a voice replied. "Are the others with you?"

"Yes, Master," she replied.

"Alright, come in!" Lucy beckoned the others to come.

"What's going on, Master?" Erza asked with her hands on her hips.

"Any news?" Gray inquired in a more calming tone.

"I hope it's more dark guilds to destroy," Natsu said excitedly. He punched the air with a fist of fire. Gray stared at him as if her just burned out all his hair. He would pretty much punch him in the face if it weren't for Makarov.

"Aye!" Happy said, jumping up and down.

Makarov chuckled to himself. His children never changed.

"So what's the news, Master?" Erza asked again impatiently.

"Well, first of all," Makarov started. "I'd like to say that I'm glad that you guys made it out alive."

Erza rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes we get it..."

"Oh, the mission was a piece of cake!" Natsu said, blowing a raspberry.

"I was talking about your encounter n the woods, Natsu," Makarov explained.

"Oh," Natsu responded. "That was easy too!"

Makarov shook his head. "From what I've seen and heard, it was more than just 'easy'?"

"Wait, you heard?" Gray asked.

"Mirajane is a pretty reliable source, is she not?" Makarov said.

Natsu rolled his eyes. Mirajane, of course...

"Hello?" Erza suddenly snapped, causing everyone else to jump back. "News?"

Makarov cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me, Erza."

Erza rolled her eyes again.

"Well, since you've had your share of battle, I suppose that makes it easier for me to tell you," Makarov began.

Everyone grew confused.

Lucy, who has been quiet for most of the time, spoke up. "What do you mean, Master?"

"There seems to be," Makarov explained. "a new guild in town."

"A new guild?" Gray repeated. "Isn't that good—"

"A dark guild," Makarov added.

They all gasped.

"Not to mention independent."

Lucy was suddenly lost in thought. Could it be...

"And based on what I've seen and heard," Makarov spoke again. "That it seems—"

"That they're after us?" Erza interrupted.

Makarov nodded. "Those are my suspicions."

Natsu blew another raspberry. "Oh come on, we've defeated plenty of dark guilds before, this once's gonna be a sitch! I'll burn them to the crisp!"

"So tell me all you know about them," Makarov said. "Fill me in with the details." He leaned forward as if the team was going to spill him some juicy gossip.

"Well, there was a guy with a top hat and a coat with tails with a little moustache," Gray started.

"Top hat? Coat of tails?" Makarov repeated in astonishment. "Who on earth fights in those outfits?"

Gray just shrugged. "Beats me too."

"Oh, and there was a big man, but I couldn't see much of his features," Lucy added. "And a woman with red coat tails and black boots. Her name is Miranda or something."

"There were orange twins," Erza mumbled.

"Orange twins?" exclaimed Makarov.

"I meant twins with orange hair," Erza corrected. "And green eyes. They can duplicate themselves and it's hard to tell them apart."

"Is that all?" Makarov asked. "What about your attacker, Natsu?"

Natsu raised and lowered one shoulder. "He had whips but I didn't know who it was."

Makarov scratched his balding head. "That doesn't sound right, there ought to be more than just six..."

"There's possibly more behind the bushes," Erza suggested. "They just haven't found the right time to attack."

"That's possible," Makarov agreed.

"But why?" Lucy wondered aloud.

Natsu placed one hand on her shoulder. "Hey, we're the strongest guild in Fiore! Who wouldn't want to try and beat us?"

"Yeah," Gray said. "But don't worry, we'll crush 'em."

Lucy smiled at that comforting thought.

"I suggest we come up with some kind of strategy," Erza announced. "There's got to be more mages in that guild, and that's a fact! We don't know their full powers yet either, so we bett—"

Crash!

"You goddamn son of a bitch, good for nothing bastard!" a loud voice roared outside.

"That sounds like Laxus," Makarov said as he got up. He quickly opened the door and came to see a shocking sight.

Laxus Dreyar, Makarov's very own blood grandson, held up Freed Justine by the collar and pinned him to the wall. Rage was clearly expressed on his face as Freed struggled to set himself free. Evergreen and Bickslow weren't much help, as they had been shoved tot he side in the efforts of making Laxus let Freed go.

"Laxus! Stop it, you're hurting him!" Mirajane cried out.

"Laxus!" Makarov cried as he trooped out with Team Natsu. "What in the world is going on here?"

Seeing his grandfather's reaction, he quickly released his grip on Freed and Freed dropped to the ground, grasping his neck and struggled to breathe. Mirajane quickly rushed over to his side.

"Nothing," Laxus grumbled.

"L-liar," Freed managed to his at him. Laxus threw a death glare at him and shot him with a thunder bullet.

"Laxus!" Mirajane cried again.

Makarov peered at his grandson closely. Something about him didn't seem right. "Laxus...where are your SoundPod?"

"Damn right, I 'd like to know!" Laxus bellowed, throwing another glare at Freed.

"I told you, I'll get them back," Freed protested. "I'll just have to look for them!"

Makarov stared at Freed. "You don't mean to say that you lost them, didn't you?"

"That's not it!" Freed cried. "I had them yesterday, I swear!"

"Oh, so you think that my SoundPod grew wings and flew away?" Laxus asked in anger. His eyes narrowed to slits and he started breathing heavily, like an angry bull about to charge.

"Laxus, I think it's best that you calm down," Makarov said.

Laxus kept his gaze straight and his expression unchanged. Then he said. "Fine, I'll just go on my mission without them! But mind you, Freed, when I come back, I'd like to have them back! Clear?"

Freed could do nothing but nod.

Laxus bent down and picked up a crumpled sheet of paper lying next to his shoes and stormed out of the guild, cursing to himself.

"Geez, what was that all about?" Lucy asked as soon as Laxus was out of earshot.

"Yeah, I've never seen him beat up the Rajiinshu up like that before," added Natsu.

"I'm fine," Freed said. "I just misplaced Laxus' SoundPod and he wants it back fro his mission, that's all. I'll find it as soon as possible."

"Yes, you can't risk getting another blow from him!" Mirajane told him worriedly, concern etched across her face.

Freed smiled. "Don't worry, I will." And with that he got up.

"Oh dear," Makarov muttered. "I hope Laxus doesn't run into that mysterious dark guild."

"Oh don't worry Master," Natsu said, trying to calm Makarov. "You know Laxus inside out, he'd beat them all to the pulp. Literally." He let out a belly laugh.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Makarov muttered again.

"He'd fry them all before they can move a muscle," Happy exclaimed.

Makarov hinted a smile but still couldn't help worrying over his grandson.

"Yeah, and I bet Black Bandit is gonna kick some asses, too!" Gray said.

"Who is Balck Bandit?" Makarov asked.

"Oh, we forgot to tell you!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Black Bandit is just someone we met along the way," Gray said. "She's got—"

"She?"

"Yes, Balck Bandit is a girl," Erza continued explaining. "Apparently she masters Arc of Embodiment."

"Arc of Embodiment!" Makarov said in astonishment.

Erza nodded. "Yes. But all we know about her is that she wears a black hood."

"Where does she come from?" Makarov asked.

"I think she lives most of her life in the woods alone," Erza replied.

"Well the guild could certainly use someone like her," Makarov stated.

"That's what we thought!" they all exclaimed at the same time.

Makarov smiled. Now he had a better feeling of things.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Back To The Rescue**

Laxus sat on the train seat with a frown on his face. It had been half an hour. Usually he would be accompanied by some rock and roll. Now all he had was the sound of the train tracks clanging against the wheels. The train was half full, and he was the only one sitting alone.

"Goddamit Freed," he muttered as he folded his arms across his chest and sulked. He suddenly felt guilty at the fact that he had nearly beat up his own team. But those were his headphones, goddamit, he had them since his teenage years. And they were expensive!

But worrying over it won't help the situation any further, and Laxus knew that. He unfolded the mission paper in his hands and read through the details.

_S-Class Mission: Exterminating Thieves_

_Hideout in Hargeon Woods_

_There are the witty and slick and the powerful and towering_

_Would rob of your valuables if not wary_

_Would beat the living shit out of you if you fight back_

_Reward 4,500,000 jewels_

Laxus blew a raspberry in annoyance. What kind of a mission did he pick anyway? It sounded like the ones on the first floor request board, but with much higher pay. He'd been so mad he didn't even know what he grabbed. Beat the living shit out of you? Not if he fried them first! And how are you supposed to exterminate thiees if you can't fight back? Who describes a mission like that?

Suddenly, a sharp bell rang brought Laxus' attention away from the million questions swirling around his head.

"Attention to all passengers," a voice blared out from the speakers. "The train will be arriving at Hargeon Station very shortly. Please gather your belongings and remain seated until the train has come to a complete stop."

Laxus kept his arms folded. He had nothing with him besides his coat draped across his back.

The train soon slowed down and Laxus looked out the window. Hargeon wasn't half bad, though it was just a first impression. It wasn't as crowded as Magnolia.

The station was coming into view and as soon as the train halted and the doors opened, all the passengers either spilled out , ushing and shoving each other along the way.

Laxus left the station and took a good look around. There were numerous parks and fountains there, with old building all around. The people walked around, some of them talking and minding their own businesses. Hargeon wasn't half bad, as he thought earlier, but he still preffered Magnolia. He was more familiar with it.

Laxus adjusted his coat and wandered around before stopping by a small bar. He ordered himself a drink and settled himself on one of the stools. People around him were engrossed in a conversation with glasses of beers around them and he tried to eavesdrop on them.

None of them seemed to be interesting enough. Only small talks on their daily lives. Finally Laxus has had enough. He was about to get up and pay for his drink when a small group of men nearby caught his attention.

"So what about the Arabella?" a man with a black leather jacket and shades asked.

"Nothing," another one wearing brown leather jacket replied. "There's been no news of them."

"That ain't true!" a third one intervened. He had cropped brown hair the color of dirt and a green leather jacket. "I hear they're in Hargeon Woods right now! They plan—"

"Pipe down, Hindmarch!" the first guy slapped him across the face.

"Geez, just stating the facts!" Hindmarch muttered angrily.

"So, what is this plan, exactly?" a fourth man with no leather jacket.

They lowered their voice and Laxus craned his neck as far as he dared.

"Hald the crew's setting up a big top in Magnolia," the second man answered. "Gon' stay there a week's top."

Big top? Laxus thought to himself. What's that?

"The others are gonna come back after their medications," the man continued. "I heard they got beat up by some lousy, low-life bastards."

"Wow. What scumbags!" the third man muttered.

"And what are we doing here again?" the fourth man asked.

There was no reply.

"I suppose we'll just have to wait for our next orders," the third man said.

"Is that it?" the first man asked. "Nothing else?"

The second man shook his head. "Nope. I got nothing."

"No geez," Hindmarch said. "Keeping our heads up is the best we can do."

"Damn right. We better get moving!" the first man got up and left some money on the table and walked out with the others tailing behind him.

Laxus took one last gulp of his drink and left too. He had no intention of following them. He needed to get on with his mission as well.

What if the people those men were talking about were the thieves in my mission? Laxus thought.

"Excuse me, which way to Hargeon Woods?" he asked a passerby outside.

"Keep going straight ahead, you'll see a layer of trees. That's the entrance. It's not very far," she replied while pointing straight.

"Right, thanks," he said and headed in the pointed direction.

"But I must warn you, young man." Laxus stopped midstep. "It's not a very homely place. Lots of thieves and pickpockets about."

Without turning around, Laxus replied, "That's what I'm here for." And continued to walk.

The woman was right, the entrance wasn't far at all. As Laxus walked, he could feel the sunlight streaming in through the trees. Grass and weed were sprouting all over the ground. There were no signs of woodland animals, though.

And if I were a thief, Laxus thought, where would I hide?

Deep inside, that's where!

Laxus did a half walk, half run as he got deeper and deeper inside. The surroundings got a little darker, but there was enough light to see.

And which part of the deep would I be hiding in? Laxus asked himself again. Up the trees? Behind the bushes? The rocks? East? West? North?

Snap!

Something tightened around Laxus' ankles and he was whipped into the air and dangling three feet above the ground.

"Hey! What the hell!" he yelled out, anger rising in his chest.

"We've got one!" a voice hollered and almost immediately, a group of black clothed guys started appearing out of bushes and rocks.

"Thunder bullets!" Laxus yelled and little bullets made out of lightning shot out of his palms and striked every thief on the spot. They all fell back at the effect.

Series of moans of pain filled the air. Laxus freed himself and looked around in surpise. The thieves didn't seem like how they described it. It sounded as if they were only trying to intimidate him.

"He's got nothing on him!" one of them yelled.

"Get him!" another screamed and they all sprung to their feet and threw various weapons at him. Before he knew it, Laxus was showered with metal spikes, shurikens and daggers. He ducked and dodged but his body wasn't accustomed to do such things and the weapons wounded him ont he arms, though not deeply. One of them drew out his sword and charged at Laxus.

"Arrrgh!" he yelled his battle cry and leaped. With small throbings in his arm, Laxus managed to raise his fist and punch the man in the face, instantly knowcking him out.

"Swords out!" came a holler and sounds of blades being pulled out of their sheaths rang through the air.

"Attack!"

Half of the thieves made a dash towards Laxus while the others stayed behind as backup. Laxus noticed that they didn't hae much tactics and were only using whatever weapon they have to thrust at him. He then decided not to use too much of his magic on them.

"Lightning fist!" he cried and soon as the masked men cam enear, he swung his arm around and knocked every single one of them out. Their swords flew through the air and crashed all over the ground.

Then the other half made their move, only this time, they had a little surprise.

"Lightning storm!" Laxus yelled and a sphere of lightning appeared between his hands, sending lightning bolts in every direction and striking them here and there. As soon as the attack was over, smoke rose to the air.

"I-impossible," one of the thieves said in a ragged voice.

Laxus snorted at the response and proceeded to blast them all with another attack once and for all, but before he could do so, he heard a voice call out, "Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!"

Suddeny, a lightning bolt from the sky shot at him and took him by surprise. Laxus lay on the ground, stunned. Someone had just summoned the Raging Bolt, but who?

"He seems like a tough cookie," the same voice said from somewhere above. "I'll handle him myself."

"It's the chief!" a thief cried out happily, and with that another black, amsked figure hopped down from the trees and faced Laxus. He had more layers of clothing that the rest.

"A lightning mage, I presume?" he said in a tone implying it to be more of a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah," Laxus replied curtly.

"I see," the masked man said. "Lightning eruption!" and without warning, Laxus flew through the air as giant bolts of lightning shot up from the ground.

"What the fuck?" Laxus exclaimed as he landed face first onto the ground.

"Unexpected, didn't you think?" the masked man asked with a smirk.

Now Laxus was enraged. "So it was you who summoned the Raging Bolt! Prepare yourself, vermin! Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!"

Immediately, a giant spear formed between Laxus' hands and he threw it with full strength at the masked man's direction. It was moving too fast for him to dodge and as a result, he was hit, but to Laxus' annoyance and amazement, he was unharmed.

"A dragon slayer too!" the man exclaimed excitedly. "This should be a very interesting battle!"

But for all Laxus knew no matter how much the man attacked him with his lightning, he wouldn't be affected, for he was a dragon slayer, and dragon slayers are immune to whatever external powers there are in his element, in Laxus' case, lightning. He could be stunned, yes, but not killed.

But the masked man was totally unharmed by the attack he just gave. Does that mean he was a dragon slayer too? Normal lightning mages might have the possibility on breaking down because of electricity overload. But not this man.

Only one way to find out.

"Lightning eruption!" Laxus shouted again but before the magic was connected, loud rumbled of thunder shook the earth. He doubled over and covered his ears. The noise was getting louder and louder, almost unbearable. He felt as if his ears were gong to fall off. Inside his head, he heard a lshrill little scream yelling out, though he couldn't hear the words.

Suddenly, he felt something cold placed on his wrist and a sudden jolt of electricity up his veins. All at once, he felt his energy being drained away. He fought and struggled to get away, but it felt as if his whole body was glued to ground.

Laxus had never felt so pathetic.

"Shut up! All of you! Please just stop it!" a female voice screeched. The masked mad suddenly pulled away and everything grew silent, though Laxus can still feel the rumbling echoing in his ears.

"Thanks!" and all of a sudden, a spear cut through the air striked the man on the upper arm.

"Yeow!" he yelled in pain.

Laxus took this as an opportunity to attack and punched the man in the face a couple of times with all his might. He figured if he can't beat the man with his lightning magic, he might as well finish him off in a hand-to-hand combat.

Zap!

Laxus flew backwards as the man shoved a tazer of some sort on his stomach and zapped him. He didn't understand what it was for.

"Never underestimate the power of—ARRRGH!" before the man could finish his sentence, another spear attacked him from above and grazed his shoulder.

"You! Over there!" the same female voice called out again. "Stay put! I'll finish him off!" Laxus obeyed the voice.

"Who are you?" the masked man yelled angrily. "Show yourself!"

The sound of rustling branches were heard and and a petite figure landed in front of Laxus. Laxus stared at her back up and down. She had on a flowing black cape with a hood and she was barefooted, but that was all he can tell.

The masked man snarled at her. "You!" and with that, he conjured up some lightning and blast them at her. She dodged them all with ease, except for the last, which hit her straight on the ankle. She screamed and her body fell limply to the ground.

"Oh, come on!" Laxus complained.

"I'm not finished yet!" the girl told him and got back up. The wind picked up as the girl hollered out, "Vine pillars!"

Immediately, a giant green stalk shot out of the ground a coiled itself around the man, disbaling him to move. However, the girl forgot one little detial, and those were his fingers. Little sparks of lightning shot out and cut through the vines easily.

"Eh?" the girl was suddenly baffled.

"You're different than most girls I've encountered," the masked man said with a small smirk. "Thunder bullets!"

"Force field!" and a translucent violet barrier surrounded her, forming a semisphere. The bullets were repelled and shot off in all directions.

"And just how long do you plan on staying inside that thing?" the masked man asked in taunting voice. "You're going to have to come out sometime!"

Laxus has had enough of staying put and leapt to his feet. "Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" he yelled and threw the spear forward, but instead of aiming for the lightning mage, he aimed for his feet. The effect was great and it blew up the surroundings within a mile radius.

The girl blasted of in the opposite direction but this time, she couldn't get up.

"This time why don't _you_ stay put and let _me _handle him?" Laxus bellowed angrily and went on for another attack. He heard the sound of feet shuffling and a branch breaking behind him but he didn't bother.

The man smiled to himself with pleasure. Finally, his competition was back. He started molding something out of lightning between his hands.

"Venom bayonet!" a voice hollered. Laxus looked back and saw the girl brandishing a spear.

"Duck!" warned the girl to Laxus and aimed for the masked man's chest. It pierced through him and instantly, he was paralyzed and his lightning exploded and blinded everyone. The girl screamed as she flew through the air again and bumped her head against a tree root. Laxus groaned as the spear's effect subsided and looked around. The spear went right through the man's chest. His eyes were shut and blood was spilling. No doubt he was now dead.

Laxus looked over to the girl, who was lying still by the tree. She had been knocked unconcious, due to the huge effect she had just created. Laxus kneeled beside her and observed her. She had untamed, black hair and pink lips. Her hands felt cold as he touched it. She was small and short, possibly Levy's size.

Laxus looked at the mess around him. Every single men were lying around unconcious. He looked at the girl again. What should he do with her? Should he just leave her here? No, he can't just leave her here. Maybe he should bring her back to the guild? No, it would feel awkward.

He heard a soft groan behind him and Laxus snapped his head back. One of the men had woken up and meant to attack Laxus again. He snapped his fingers and an electric jolt hit him on the face, knocking him out again.

Laxus turned his attention back to the girl and looked at her closely, trying to make up his mind.

It was nearly midnight and almost everyone in the guild was asleep.

"Where's Laxus?" asked Mirajane as she wiped the dishes. "He ought to be here ours ago."

"Beats me," Gray replied, taking a sip of his chocolate.

"Relax you guys," Natsu said as he approached them. "Laxus' a big guy, he can take care of himself."

"I wonder if he's met Black Bandit yet," Gray muttered. As soon as the words left his lips, the doors of the guild flew open and in came Laxus. It was raining outside, and he was soaking wet.

"Laxus! There you are!" Mirajane cried out in relief. She rushed towards him and stopped when she noticed that he had something wrapped in his coat. "What's that?"

"More like, who?" Laxus said and placed the bundle on the floor. A small figure rolled out and lied limply on the floor.

Natsu and Gray gaped. "It's Black Bandit!"

"Ah, so this is the Balck Bandit you've been talking about," Mirajane said as she kneeled down and placed her hand on the girl's forehead. "Goodness, she's burning up!"

"You guys know her?" Laxus asked.

"We met her on our way back hom from our last mission," Natsu explained.

"Helped us defeat the enemy, too," Gray added.

"How did you get her here?" Natsu asked in awe.

Laxus looked down at his feet. "Yeah well she kind of fought a part of my battle, too."

They all gasped. Even the S-Class mage needed some help! The enemy must have been very strong. Only except Black Bandit defeated them, which means that she was much, much stronger! But she was knocked out.

It must've been quite a battle, Natsu and Gray thought.

"Quick, we should get her up!" Mirajane suddenly exclaimed. "She's having a high fever. Let's put her in my room first."

The boys nodded and helped Mirajane carry Black Bandit up to her room on the second floor and settled her on Mirajane's bed. She tucked her in and placed a warm, damp cloth on her forehead.

"That should do the trick," Mirajane said softly and they all exited the room.

"So Laxus, what's your story?" Natsu asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

Laxus scowled. "Do I have to?"

"What's going on up there?" Lucy's sleepy voice called out from below.

"Laxus brought home Black Bandit!" Gray announced.

"He did?" it was Erza this time. "Where is she? I want to see her!"

Lucy stared at her redhead friend. She's never seen her this excited eer since Jellal Fernandes.

"Calm down, Erza," Mirajane said, smiling. "She's burning up with a fever. She's resting now."

"Oh." Disappoiintment filled Erza's voice.

"So anyway Laxus, what's your story?" Natsu asked again.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Laxus grumbled.

"Oh come on," Lucy pleaded. "Please?"

Everyone had the same pleading looks on their face. Laxus fought the urge to slap them all. They were all like children whining for a bedtime story, and he wasn't doing any of that!

"Nothing happened!" Laxus snapped. "I fought, she helped, the enemy died and she fainted! That's all!"

"There's gotta be more than that," Erza pointed out.

"I said I don't want to talk about it!"

"Then why did you bring her here?" Gray inquired.

"I thought you said you needed someone like her in the guild!" Laxus replied, raising his voice.

"Shh, keep it down, you'll wake the others," Mirajane shushed.

Everyone grew silent.

"That's true," Natsu said finally.

Laxus grunted again. "I'm going to bed now. Don't disturb me!" and with that, he trudged up the stairs and slammed his door shut.

"Geez, what's with him?" Natsu asked himslef huffily.

"Relax, Natsu, he's always like that," comforted Lucy.

Natsu thought about it. "True," he said.

"You guys better get some rest, too," Mirajane said. She got up and went back to the sink filled with dishes.

"Aren't you going to sleep too, Mirajane?" asked Lucy.

"No, I still have workd to do, and Black Bandit is currently asleep in my bed," she answered.

"Black Bandit's in your room?" Erza asked in disbelief.

Mirajane nodded.

"Then where will you be sleeping?" Lucy asked.

Mirajane just shrugged. "I'll find myself a place. Right now, Black Bandit needs it more than I do."

Lucy smiled. She have always admired Mirajane's assertive attention and caring towards others.

"Well, she better wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed tomoorow," Erza said. "We've got loads to catch up on. Alright, goodnight everyone!"

"Night, Erza!"

"Goodnight!"

"Sweet dreams, everyone!"

Back in his room, Laxus couldn't help but ponder over today's events. That girl seemed superficial, he thought to himself, but he couldn't quite explain why.

He wondered again why he had decided to bring her to the guild but he couldn't. Was it just out of pity? He did did a lot of things just to get her here.

Like when he had to rummage through the thieves' pockets and sacks for some jewels so he can buy the tickets home for the both of them.

Or when he had to lie to the ticket seller about her.

"Is she alright?" the ticket seller asked with concern. Laxus had set her on her feet and slung one of her arms across his shoulder for support and dragged her all the way to the station because carrying her in his arms would be too embarassing.

"Yeah," he lied. "She just had a really long day."

Then he set her on the seat next to him aboard the train. Her body was very weak and kept sliding to the side and nearly fell off the seat multiple times, until Laxus had no choice but to rest her head on his shoulder and place his hand on her waist to prevent her from falling over again. Some elderly women saw this and started whispering among each other. Laxus struggled to keep his emotions under control.

When the hell is she going to wake up? Laxus thought impatiently.

And then he carried her in his arms and wrapped her in his coat while walking towards the guild. He had tried to drag her around again but it was harder to do on the rocky ground than on the smooth station floor. Nobody was going to see him this time because nobody was there. The rain was peltering on them hard and Laxus wondered if Juvia Lockser was to blame for it.

But she did save his life, Laxus thought as he dried his hair with a towel. When he felt his energy being sapped away and her spear interrupted. Maybe he just wanted to return the debt? It didn't look like she ha a home anyway. Just wandering around the woods like that. Like she didn't belong anywhere.

Everyone needs somewhere to belong.

But why did _she _save _him_? The question swirled around his head but there never came a direct answer. Was it out of pity? Was it because she needed some peace and quiet?

Maybe he should find out about it tomorrow if she wakes up, hopefully.

If he was lucky, he should be able to find some answers to his million questions.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Run Away**

"So how is she?" Erza asked the next morning. The sun isn't very high up yet but nearly half of the guild were awake upon hearing last night's news.

"She's doing fine, Erza," Mirajane said as she prepared everyone a cup of coffee. "Her fever's gone down. I think she's going to wake up any minute."

"I can't wait to meet her!" Wendy said excitedly.

"Me too!" Levy exclaimed.

"How about Master?" Erza asked. "Has he heard?"

Mirajane nodded. "He's waiting in his office. He doesn't want to distrub."

At least half an hour passed by and there was no sign of the Black Bandit.

Erza slammed her mug against the table and sighed in frustration. "This is driving me crazy. If she doesn't wake up by noon, I'm officially kicking her out of bed!"

"Erza!" Mirajane said in shock. "You wouldn't do that!"

"I will if I have to," Erza grunted.

"Well, it's no use just hanging around here," Lucy said. She had just woken up and poured herself a cup of coffee from a nearby jug. "I'll say we go on a mission first while we wait."

"But—"

"No buts, Erza," Lucy interjected. "Come on!" She grabbed Erza by the wrist and dragged her towards the request board.

Erza yanked her hand away. "Hey! What about Gray and Natsu?"

"They can take care of themselves, right?" Lucy said nonchalantly as she skimmed over the available missions.

"But we're a team! We can't go on a mission without them!" Erza complained.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure if Erza really meant what she said, or if she just made up some kind of excuse to wait for Black Bandit to wake up.

"Really Erza? Why are you so interested in Black Bandit anyway?" Lucy asked.

"Why do you ask?" Erza asked back.

"Just curious," Lucy replied.

Erza sighed. "I needed some answers."

Lucy was confused. "Answers for what?"

"For...everything that's been happening, I guess," Erza said. "I mean, why did she save us? We could've handled them ourselves, right?"

"You're starting to sound like Natsu," Lucy said, grinning. "But let's be honest here Erza, even Laxus needed a little help. And he's stronger than all of us put together."

"Well, that's true," Erza said. "But that's just another reason."

"Another reason for what?" Lucy asked.

"I need to know where she got her powers from," Erza explained. "And how she gets so much...skill."

"She's probably just born with it," Lucy said.

Erza grew quiet.

Lucy thought of Erza's answers and tried putting two and two together. Then in an instant, the answer dawned upon her.

"Erza, are you jealous?"

Erza whipeed her head and faced Lucy, a fierce look on her face. Lucy regretted asking the question right away.

"I am not jealous!" Erza announced so that the whole guild can hear.

"Shh, Erza!" Mirajane hushed.

"What the hell," a sleepy voice muttered aloud. All heads turned around as they realized that Natsu had just woken up.

"I said, I'm not jealous!" Erza screamed again.

Natsu blinked in confusion.

Lucy was too afraid to tell Erza what really was on her mind so she just nodded meekly. She had seen Erza in a temper tantrum and she was not going to go through it all over again.

At the same time, the sound of a door creaking open was heard upstairs. Erza quickly rushed up and came face-to-face with...

"Black Bandit!" Erza cried out with joy. "She's awake everyone!"

Erza turned back to Black Bandit, who had a startled look on her face. Her knees were touching, her hands were clamped on the buttons of her cloak and as Erza looked closely, she could see that she was shaking a little.

"Where am I?" she asked timidly.

"Where are you?" Natsu exclaimed throwing his fist of flames in the air. "Why, you're in Fairy Tail! The most powerful guild in all of Fiore!"

"Let's not get cocky here, Natsu," Lucy whispered to him.

"Well, we are the strongest!" Natsu countered.

"Way to make a first impression," Gray mumbled drowsily. Apparently, he's been woken up from all the noise too.

"You're not one to talk," Lucy said, remembering the first time they met at the guild.

"What's a guild?" Black Bandit asked timidly. "Why are there so many people here?"

Everyone turned to stare.

"Have you really been alone all this time?" Gray asked.

The girl nodded.

"Oh..."

"Well, if you must know," Levy said. "A guild is where people gather together and perform missions with magic."

The girl looked at one face to another with wide, wary eyes.

"I shouldn't be here," she suddenly said and fled downstairs.

"Hey, where are you going?" Lucy called out, but the door slammed shut as soon as she finished.

Everyone started whispering among each other.

"Well, that was weird," Natsu shrigged and turned around to walk but he felt something yank at his scarf hard and pull him back.

"Not so fast," Erza said sternly. "You're coming with me. Gray, Lucy, you too!"

"What? Where?" Lucy asked, panic rising in her voice.

"We're going to look for Black Bandit," Erza said. "Even if it means knocking down every door in town!"

"What?" Gray blurted. "Erza, what are you trying to pull!"

"Like I said, I need some answers," Erza said. "Only this time, I've got more questions." Before any of them could utter a single word or move a muscle, Erza gripped Natsu and Gray by the hands and dragged them out the guild. Then as quickly as she did, she kicked Lucy out as well.

"Hey, ow!" Lucy cried out as she landed on her arse onto the pavement.

"Alright, let's move it!" Erza clapped her hands and made a dash for the town.

"Ugh, she's crazy!" Gray muttered in annoyance.

"Well, we've got no choice but to follow her," Lucy said, rubbing her sore bottom. "Who knows what she'll do if we don't."

"Maybe she'll even battle me!" Natsu exclaimed.

Lucy and Gray sighed in exasperation

"Alright, if I was running away, where would I hide?" Erza asked herself. She ran this way and that, peering through windows and kicking down doors and asking random passerbys for Black Bandit's whereabouts.

No one has been much help.

"Argh! Where could she be?" Erza asked herself in frustration. Half an hour of wandering the whole town and there was no sign of her.

"Erza! Hey, Erza! Wait up!" a voice yelled out. Erza looked back and was surprised to see her team running up behind her. She had been so caught up in looking for Black Bandit she had completely forgotten about them, even though she was the one who had forced them to come with her.

Lucy placed both hands on her knees and panted when she reached Erza. "Oh Erza, where have you been? We've been looking all over for you. And Black Bandit too, of course!"

"Yeah, real nice of you to leave us, Erza," Gray said sarcastically.

Erza grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Anyway guys, one question," she continued. "If you were on the run away from someone or something, where would you hide?"

"Some place only you know, I suppose," Lucy suggested.

Erza thought about this. "Yes, that's possible, but she comes from Hargeon Woods, not Magnolia and sh—that's it! I know where she might be!" She turned around and made another dash.

"Oi, Erza!" Natsu shouted and ran to catch up with her. Lucy did the same thing.

"Sorry guys, but I just had a theory,"' Erza grinned. "Just follow me!"

"Why are we in the East Forest?" Lucy asked.

"Because Black Bandit comes from the forest," Erza explained. "She's been living there for most of her life. I doubt she knows where the woods she lives in is located, therefore, she would probably think that any forest that she stumbles upon is her home."

"That's smart thinking," Lucy remarked.

"Now all we have to do is track her down. Hey Natsu, you smell anything?"

Natsu shrugged. "Geez Erza, I don't go around sniffing people."

Erza's face fell. "So you really can't trace her scent?"

Natsu shook his head. "Nope, sorry."

Erza clenched her fist and resisted the urge to give Natsu a punch in the eye, but she knew it wasn't the time. "Alright, fine, I guess we'll just have to search for her on our own."

Gray groaned. "Ugh, do we really—"

Erza's face turned dark. Gray quickly covered up his mouth. "Oh yeah yeah, we must!"

So off they went in search of Black Bandit in accordance to Erza's wishes.

"Wait, I just thought of something," Lucy said all of a sudden. "What if Black Bandit ended up at Porlyusica's door? You know how much she hates humans."

Erza grew quiet at the thought. "I honestly didn't think of that."

"Geez, we should hurry!" Natsu said as he picked up speed. "Who knows what Porlyusica's reaction gonna be!"

"Oh! There she is!" Erza yelled as she made it out to the forest clearing. Just as Lucy had suspected, Black Bandit has indeed arrived at Porlyusica's home.

"Get out of here, you filth! Humans are most unwelcome!" the shrill scream of Porlyusica rang throughout the forest.

"Aiiiih!" another piercing scream tore the air. Erza watched as Black Bandit was kicked out by the elderly mage. "Owf!"

"Are you alright?" Erza asked she ran over to Black Bandit's side.

Black Bandit looked up, the look on her face was in pain. "I'm fine. Just please tell me where I am?"

"You're in the East Forest of Magnolia," Lucy said as she approached. "And that's Porlyusica."

"Magnolia?" the girl exclaimed. "Oh no, this isn't where I'm supposed to be either!" She suddenly started sobbing.

"There, there," Lucy comforted her as she sat down on the grass to comfort the weeping girl.

Porlyusica snorted. "Kids these days. I just don't know what to think anymore."

"I'm sorry to rudely butt in like this, Porlyusica," Erza said. "But she's been going through a lot."

"How so?" Porlyusica inquired, her voice suspicious.

Erza bit her lip and tried to figure out the shortest way to explain. "Well, it's kind of a long story..." Damn it, first she was so hyped on getting some information, now all she was doing was feeling sorry for her!

Porlyusica's suspicion deepened.

"I'll handle this!" Natsu suddenly burst in. "You see, Porlyusica, we were on a mission and then a group of funny looking people decided to attack, so whoop! We attacked back! Obviously, that's what people would do, right? Right! But it turns out that they were really strong, but of course, we're much stronger, but then she—" he pointed at Black Bandit. "—she suddenly just appeared out of nowhere and throw all these spears and whatnots right in the face and—"

Erza delibrately cleared her throat aloud.

"What?" Natsu demanded.

"Uhm, skip the detail," Erza hinted, and signalled Natsu that Porlyusica was in no mood for such stories.

"Right, right," Natsu stalled and began again. "So anyway, long story short, she saved us and ran away. Then we came back to the guild and told everyone. And then Laxus went on a mission and ran into her again. Even she helped him defeat the opponent, and you know how strong Laxus is! But then she fainted so Laxus decided to bring her back to the guild, only she ran away again and ended up here, thinking it's her home, because, you know, she lives in the forest, alone, like you." Natsu stopped rambling and took a deep breath.

"Are you done?" Porlyusica asked.

"Yeah, I'm done," Natsu replied.

Porlyusica looked at Natsu, then Erza, then at Lucy and Black Bandit and sighed. "Fine. I guess I can omit it this time. But no more trespassing."

Everyone, except Black Bandit, who was still in tears, nodded hastily.

"Now be gone!" Porlyusica got into her usual rage again and everyone made a hasty retreat.

"She's a nasty old woman," Black Bandit mumbled as soon as they were in town again.

"Hush, don't say such things," Erza said.

Black Bandit stared at her wide eyed.

Erza sighed. "I suppose she can get into a rather nasty temper. But don't mind her, she just has her ways with people."

"Anyways, why did you run off earlier?" Gray asked.

Black Bandit stayed silent.

"Come on, don't be shy," Natsu said.

"Don't rush her, Natsu," Lucy warned.

"Uhm, I—I don't—" Black Bandit stuttered.

"Yes?" Erza said, silently urging her on.

Suddenly, she broke down again. "I don't belong here!"

They all blinked.

"That's not true!" interjected Natsu. "Fairy Tail accepts anyone!"

"I never planned on joining your guild," she complained. "I never even knew how I got here!"

Everyone was silent.

"We're sorry, but we can't get you home," Erza said, breaking the silence.

Black Bandit's eye grew wide. "Eh? Why not?"

Erza scratched the back of her neck. "Well, you see, because one of our nakamas—"

"Nakama?" interrupted Black Bandit.

"Yeah, nakama," said Erza. "It means friend."

"Friend..." Black Bandit repeated faintly.

"Anyway, one of our nakamas, the one with the spiky blonde hair if you can recall, he brought you here," Erza said.

"Why?" she asked.

Erza raised and lowered one shoulder. "We don't know much details. I suppose it was because he felt sorry for you."

"Sorry? For me?"

"Well, it's a guess, but that's how I would describe it," Erza said. "And what I'm trying to say is that if you go back, that would only mean that you're putting his efforts to waste. He did make a lot of sacrifices to get you here."

"He did?" asked an astonished Black Bandit.

"He did?" repeated a surprised Natsu, Lucy and Gray.

Erza nodded, but on the inside, she really had no idea.

Black Bandit pondered. Pity? Sacrifices? No one has ever done that to her, not after she made herself an outcast. Maybe she should give them a chance...

"Alright, I'll give the guild a shot," she finally said.

Everyone did a little dance of joy. Black Bandit just looked around in confusion.

"Great, excellent choice," Erza said. "Now let's go back, everyone's waiting!"

"Oh wait," Lucy said and faced Black Bandit. "What's your name?"

Black Bandit expression faltered a little and Lucy wondered if it was something that she said.

"My name's Evia," Black Bandit replied. "Evia Lockheart."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Evia Lockheart**

"Guess who's joining our guild?" Natsu annunced as he kicked the guild doors open. All heads turned at once.

"Wait, you don't mean to say that she's actually going to be a Fairy Tail member?" Levy gushed. Wendy squealed in delight and soon, the whole guild burst into cheers. Evia looked around nervously. She had never been around so many people before, not in a very, very long time anyway. Part of her wanted to make a run for it but her legs weren't cooperating.

"Come on now, don't be shy," Erza said. She pushed Evia forward and she tried to resist, but her feet skidded along the wooden floorboards and there was nothing much she could do about it.

"Well, hello there," Mirajane greeted with a smile. Evia tried to smile back, just faintly. The guild was getting noisier and she was starting to get uncomfortable.

"Now where would you like your Fairy Tail mark?" Mirajane asked.

"My what?" Evia asked.

"Your Fairy Tail mark, it shows that you're an official member of Fairy Tail," Lucy explained helpfully. "See? Like mine!" She lifted her right hand up and showed Evia her pink mark.

Evia nodded. She looked around her body and tried to find the perfect spot. Nowhere too revealing, she decided. She inspected the guild members from afar. Most of them had their marks on their upper arms. She decided against that, too. After a few minutes of making up her mind, she instinctively patted her left shoulder blade.

"Ah, just like Levy," Mirajane responded with a smile. "And what colour?"

"Purple," Evia replied, and then hesitantly added, "please?"

"Yes, of course," Mirajane said and prceeded to give her the mark, but in order to do that, Evia would have to take her cloak off, which is something she doesn't do very often, but she dismissed it this one time. She unbuttoned the clasps and let it drop to the floor, revealing a thin, underfed body hidden in a sleeveless, tattered black dress made out of thin material. Mirajane took a better look of Evia. Her hair fell aross the middle of her back in messy, untamable waves. Her eyes wre deep purple and there was a small, prominent cut above her right eyebrow. Her lips her pale pink, dry and cracked. Her chest wasn't that big, probably due to the fact that she has been eating nothing but berries. Around her waist was a belt with a small pouch attached to it. Her arms and legs were covered in scratches, but nothing too serious. The cloak, it seemed, was made out of a thicker type of cloth, possibly to keep her warm at night.

Mirajane had never met someone as intriguing as her.

"Tell me, Evia, what exactly do you live on?" she asked softly, not wanting to offend her in any way.

"Berries and nuts, but a hare or a deer once in a while isn't so bad," Evia replied. Suddenly, she felt a funny, tingling sensation on her shoulder, but as soon as the stamp was lifted up, everything felt the way it was before.

"There, all done!" Mirajane announced.

Evia turned her head to examine her new mark but all she could see was just a glimpse of what seems like a purple bird.

"Now you're one of us!" Lucy exclaimed.

Evia gave Lucy a quick smile and quickly draped her cape across her shoulders.

"Wait, you can hunt?" Erza piped up all of a sudden.

Evia nodded, a little surprised by the question.

This is it, Erza thought. This was the moment she's been waiting for. Maybe she can finally get some answers to the restless questions.

"Hey!" a cheery voice called out behind them. It was Levy, accompanied by Wendy and Carla, Wendy's guardian/pet Exceed.

"Hi, Levy, Wendy and Carla," Mirajane greeted.

"Hi, and what's your name again?" Levy asked, meaning to ask Evia.

"Evia," she replied.

"What kind of magic do you do?" Wendy questioned, hugging Carla to her chest.

Evia shrugged. "I don't know. It just allows me to materialize whatever I want."

"Arc of Embodiment," Erza said helpfully.

"Wow," Levy gushed. "Show me!"

"Eh?"

"Make something!" Wendy said excitedly. She perched herself on one of the stools and looked on eagerly.

Evia was growing nervous. "Like what?"

"Well, let's start by something simple," Levy said. "How about an apple?"

Evia shut her eyes and racked her brains for the perfect visual of an apple, but all she got was nothing but a blurry blob of red. It's been quite some time since she ate an apple and she had no idea of its appearance. Sweat was beading on her forehead.

"What's wrong?" Wendy asked when she saw Evia befuddled expression.

"I can't do it, I'm sorry," Evia said shamefully. She felt her face heat up and buried it in her hands. The others became confused. How was that possible?

"There, there, don't cry," Levy comforted, patting her one the back.

"I am not!" Evia suddenly snapped. Levy jerked her hand back in shock and everyone stared.

"Sorry," Evia apologized, hanging her head again.

"Um, that's alright," Levy said with an awkward smile. She was keeping her distance and Evia wished she hadn't been so rude. Darn it!

"Let's try something else," Wendy suggested, trying to break the tension. She reached out to something on the edge of the counter. "Try making a duplicate of this coffee mug."

That seems fairly easier. Evia rubbed her eyes and focused on the mug while everyone else looked at her work intently. Then she blinked.

Evia then placed both hands on the counter, one apart from the other. Moments later, a soft white glow appeared between her hands and when it slowly fades away, an identical mug was in its place.

Everyone ogled and stared. Some even proceeded to clap and cheer.

"Do it again!" Wendy squealed.

Evia smiled shyly.

"Evia, how is it that you can forge a mug, but not an apple?" Erza asked doubtfully.

"I suppose it's what you call photographic memory," Evia answered. "It's like when I blink, I keep the 'picture' of the mug in my head for future use. Or anything else for that matter. If it's something entirely made out of my imagination, that can be harder to create, because I have to fully concentrate so that it doesnt go wrong."

"How about something big this time?" Wendy suggested in excitement. The others nodded in agreement.

Evia's face fell flat. "Rather not."

Wendy's mouth fell open. "Why not?"

"Because the bigger the object I make, the more magic it consumes and I'm still feeling a little lightheaded," Evia reasoned. It was the truth, she's been there before. Hopefully it doesn't sound much like a lie to the others.

"Right," Erza said. "And when did you discoaver this power of yours?"

"A few years back, I think," Evia said. "Why?"

"Just wondering," Erza replied simply. "How did you discover it?"

Evia pursed her lips tightly and everyone knew she didn't want to talk about it. Everyone except Erza, that is. She was too determined to get her answer.

"Long story," Evia muttered.

"I have time," Erza said, sitting on one of the stools and leaned in.

"I don't feel like talking about it," Evia said curtly, hoping that Erza would just buzz off already.

Quite the contrary.

A murky expression clouded Erza's face and it was clear from there that she dislikes it when people go against her.

Fortunately, Mirajane came to Evia's rescue.

"Let her be, Erza," she said. "She'll tell you when she feels like it."

I won't ever! Evia felt like screaming.

Erza glared at Mirajane, then at Evia. Evia was going to stay her ground no matter what.

Unfortunately, Erza had the same thought.

This time, Carla spoke up. "Take it this way, Erza. How would you feel if someone asked you something that _you _don't feel like talking about? Take Jellal, for instance."

"I can talk about him just fine!" Erza snapped.

Carla sighed. "Alright, how about Sho then? Milliana? Wally? Simon? The Tower of Paradise? And what about—"

Erza slammed her hand on the table so hard that it shook. Everyone jumped back at once, realizing that Erza was going to blow.

Carla kept her gaze straight. "You don't like it, don't you Erza?"

"Fine!" she roared. "You win this time! But mark my words—" Erza drew out her sword and pointed the blade straight at Evia. "—I will get the story out of you!"

Evia raised her eyebrow and tried to look as if she wasn't afraid, although inside she was shaking. What was her problem?

Erza drew her sword back into the sheath but accidentally, she cut off the pouch on Evia's belt. The bag dropped to the floor with a silent thud and the contents spilled out, revealing the bag to be filled with a few berries and acorns.

"You never told us you ate acorns, Evia," Levy said, picking one of them and played with it with her fingers.

"I don't, Kibble eats them and—Oh my gosh, Kibble!" Without warning, Evia jumped off her stool and made a mad dash for the door, but before she was halfway across the building, she felt something tightened around her neck and she was yanked back. She landed on her bottom and fell flat on her back. Her face scrunched up as pain shot up across her spine.

"Not so fast, where do you think you're going?" a voice said sinsterly. Evia glanced up and saw Erza glowering at her.

"Please, you have to let me go back one more time!" Evia pleaded.

"No!" Erza said sharply.

She felt tears threatening to come out. "Please! You have to let me! Kibble is still out there!"

"Who is Kibble?" Lucy asked.

"He's my pet," Evia explained quickly and turned back to Erza. "Please, I'll do anything!"

Erza considered this, then bent down and whispered in Evia's ear. "Even let me in to your secret?"

Blackmail! That was the first word that popped into Evia's mind. But it doesn't look like she has any other choice.

"Yes, yes, I'll tell you," Evia was begging now. "Now can you please let me go?"

Apparently, it wasn't enough for Erza. "How will you know if you're going to come back?"

"Because I have my mark!" Evia yelled. She's had enough of Erza. "I'm a part of your guild now, can't you just accept that?"

Erza wasn't quite convinced but she dismissed it. She narrowed her eyes and came up with a deal. "You're going to get this Kibble of yours, and come back yes?"

Evia nodded hastily.

"If that's the case, then I'm coming with you."

Evia was speechless. He whole guild was silenced too, too shocked to speak.

"I can't risk the guild losing someone like you," Erza said, her voice suddenly soft and kind.

Now Evia's mind was in a muddle. First she was demanding of her secret now she's complimenting her on her skills? What on earth has got into this girl?

"Erza..." Mirajane started.

"Don't mind me, Mira, I know what I'm doing," Erza said in a breeze. "So, shall we go?"

Evia didn't hear her the first time since she was so muddled up in her thoughts, that Erza had to repeat herself louder. Evia snapped out of her reverie and hastily replied, "Yeah, yeah, we should go!" and out she ran, with Erza not far behind.

"What on earth has gotten into Erza?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"She can be overly demanding, huh?" Wendy said, more like a statement rather tahn a question.

"That's Erza for you," Mirajane said. "Gosh, it's barely noon and we've got some interesting events unfolding, haven't we?"

Everyone nodded.

"Goodness, I just realized that I haven't introduced Evia to the Master," Mirajane gasped.

"Don't worry, they'll turn up in no time," Levy said. "They'll make it back alive."

"Correction, _if _Evia makes it back alive," Carla pointed out.

They all stared at Carla and denied it, but secretly they were wondering if the white-furred Exceed could actually be right.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: History**

The train ride back to Hargeon was silent. Both girls sat across each other, arms folded across their chest, staring out the window and not saying a word to each other.

Erza had tried to get the story out of Evia while they were waiting at the station, but Evia kept her mouth shut.

"Not now, there's too many people," she merely whispered and Erza agreed with a stiff nod. Hopefully she had her patience would last until they reach Hargeon Woods.

Evia, however, wasn't in a very good mood, particularly due to the fact that Erza decided to tag along. First she was dragged all the way to this madhouse of a guild, and now here she was, sitting in the same locomotive a feet away!

What is wrong with this girl? She thought to herself in annoyance. Doesn't she have anything better to do?

The train chugged on as they continued to ignore each other. The scenery changed from time to time. Once in a while, they would go right through a tunnel and everything would turn pitch black. Not that it bothered them or anything.

Finally, Erza decided to break the silence. She leaned forward and said, "Evia, can I ask you something?"

"What?" Evia snapped.

Erza decided to brush it off and proceeded. "Who is Kibble?"

There was another long silence before Evia answered, "He's my friend."

"What sort of friend?" Erza inquired.

"What do you mean, 'what sort of friend?'? He's my friend!" Evia said indignantly.

Erza sighed. "Well, what does he look like?"

"You shall know when we get there," Evia replied and went back to the view.

Well, that was a memorable conversation.

Erza thought of all the possibilities Kibble could be. He could most certainly be human, but if he is, wasn't it reasonable for him to join Evia along during the battle in the woods? Or maybe it was just his nature, that he wasn't a fighter?

Maybe he was too young...

Maybe Evia had a little brother? It was possible.

Who names their brother Kibble?

What if Kibble isn't really human at all? There's another possibility. Maybe he's a woodland animal? But what kind? Rabbit? Squirrel? Deer?

No, he can't possibly be a deer. Erza disticntly remembered Evia mentioning that she occasionally eats deer meat so there was no way Kibble can be a deer.

What other woodland animals are there?

Chipmunk, bluebird, racoons, eagle, hummingbird, bears, beavers, wolf, rats, hedgehog... the list goes on and on.

But what if Kibble wasn't any of the above mentioned? He could be a supernatural being for all that's possible?

But was it really possible?

Erza was coming up with so many theories, she hardly noticed that the train had come to a stop. Evia immediately leaped out of her seat and dashed out of the train. Erza blinked and jumped out of her seat as well and raced after Evia.

"Hey, you weren't planning on leaving me?" Erza demanded when she caught up with Evia. Evia barely turned her head when she replied.

"You seem busy."

Erza fumed. Busy, my foot! She thought.

"I was not!" Erza replied indignantly.

"You sure seem like it," Evia said. "Now come on, we're wasting time!" And with that, she sprinted off. Erza chased after yet again.

"Evia!" Erza called out and sped up a pace or two. Geez, she was like a gazelle!

"Evia!" Erza shouted. The woods weren't too far ahead. She can see Evia running towards the entrance. "Evia, hey!"

"Kibble!" came the reply. Erza couldn't help but slap her palm onto her forehead.

She came nearer to the woods. This wasn't how it was like when she first set foot here. Before it was dark, cold and creepy. Now warm sunlight was streaming in through the leaves and a gentle breeze was blowing her hair. Erza slowed to a walk and let the scenery sink in. She took a deep breath and felt calmer, serene even.

However that feeling didn't last very long when she realized that Evia had gone missing again.

"Evia!" she yelled. She was starting to get impatient.

A head appeared from behind a bush. "Oh, Erza, did you say something?" Evia asked inocently.

Erza clenched her fist tight to stop herself from slapping Evia in the face.

"You squaw, we had a deal!" Erza said, sounding almost furious.

Evia looked confused. "What deal?"

Now she was starting to get on her nerves. "Don't play dumb with me, Evia! I said if I let you come here, you'd tell me your story!"

"But Erza, I never asked you to come along," Evia countered.

"That's not what I meant!" she roared and raised her hand to give her a good smack in the face, but her hand was halted midair by something hard gripping onto her wrist.

"Evia, let go of me!" Erza demanded.

Evia kept her gaze steely and straight and tightened her grip. Not that it would affect Erza in any way. Erza was strong and Evia knew it.

"You can get really hard-headed sometimes, can you?" Evia asked.

Erza blew a raspberry.

Evia sighed. "Well, you're al going to find out about it one day, anyway."

Erza struggled to keep her voice even. "You promised me, Evia."

"Well, I did say you are all going to find out sooner or later, and from the fact that you won't ever leave my side until it's out, I might as well make it a 'sooner'."

Erza gaped.

"Well, are you ready?" Evia asked.

"Yeah," Erza replied, her voice slightly high-pitched. Finally!

"But on one condition."

Erza couldn't help but let a groan leave her lips.

"You have to promise me not to question anything else until I feel like it, alright?" Evia stated.

Erza felt like punching everything in sight. To her, that was like the ultimate sacrifice. Who knows how long she was going to wait?

No, she decided. Better to let her tell her first story, rather than asking another one and having no answer.

"Alright, fine," Erza subtly agreed.

"Kibble!" Evia called out.

"Evia!" Erza hollered.

"Sorry," Evia apologized. "But help me look while I tell you, okay?"

"I don't even know what he is!"

Evia sighed. She completely forgot about that. "He's a squirrel with flappy arms. Shouldn't be that hard to find. Oh, and don't call out Kibble, he doesn't respond to strangers."

Erza nodded involuntarily.

Evia inhaled and exhaled. "Alright, here goes nothing."

And so the storytelling began.

"I come from Hargeon Haven Orphanage," she started slowly. "I don't know who my parents are and I was there for six years."

"Six years?" Erza exclaimed.

Evia nodded. "No one bothered adopting me. I was that shy around strangers. I didn't have a lot of friends either. Except for Vierra, she's—"

"Who's Vierra?" Erza asked all too quickly.

"Please don't interrupt," Evia said.

"Sorry," Erza said.

Evia grabbed unto a tree branch and swung herself up while peeking among the leaves.

"Vierra is this girl that I met in the orphanage. She was twelve when she came. Who knows what happened to her parents. She lost her memory so she had no ways of knowing. She was my only best friend there. She didn't mind hanging around me."

Evia got down from the tree and continued to walk alongside Erza.

"There were others, too, of course, but they don't acknowledge me that much. In total, there are thirteen of us: me, Vierra, Sinclair, Seymour, Jas, Ianna, Chip, Azalea, Sybill, Yukina, Cora, James and Grady. Our caretaker is called Alice. She's really nice but she can be mean, too. She would say 'rise and shine, my lovelies' and then yank the blanket off us."

"Evia, you have a last name, don't you?" Erza asked as she searched among the bushes.

Evia nodded. "Lockheart; one who keeps her heart locked away, they said. Our last names either come from our characteristics or if you already have one. Vierra had one but she couldn't remember it, so we called her Moony, because she likes to daydream a lot, especially about her imaginary boyfriend..." Evia smiled at the memory.

"Imaginary boyfriend?" Erza repeated, puzzled.

"Yeah. Vierra would draw a boy's face over and over again on different pieces of paper, because she kept ripping them or losing them. He's not bad, if I do say so myself; long, spiky hair, piercing eyes, crooked smile. She even wrote down his personality on the side; humorous, kind, brave, silly, energetic. 'Someday, I'll meet him and we'll get married', she used to tell me."

"Erm, well yes, continue," Erza urged.

"Right anyway, the others had fairly interesting names. Sinclair and Seymour Darkray, did I mention that they were twins? Sinclair is the more popular and interesting one, though..." suddenly, Evia had a strange look on her face, but she quickly snapped out of it. "Seymour hardly ever shows himself. Then there's Jas Boney, because he's so skinny. Ianna White, because her hair's white and she's so pale. Chip Lionmane, because his hair looks just like one. Azalea Tearce, because she can be such a crybaby sometimes. Sybill Hardy, because he was pretty muscular for a kid. Yukina Valentine, Cora Corelli, and then, James Hawking, because he has really good eyesight. And Grady Ultramarine, because that's her favorite colour, she said."

"What's Alice's surname?" Erza asked, out of curiosity.

"Copperbarrel, because she has copper skin and well... she's shaped like a...barrel."

Erza stiffled a laughter. Evia joined in.

"Oh! I think I know where Kibble might be!" Evia suddenly exclaimed. "Follow me!"

She ran along a narrow path between two trees with Erza following closely behind.

"I never knew how I got there," Evia continued. "Alice told me she found me half-dead in front of the door when I was seven. My name and age were all that I remember. Lockheart is my real last name, by the way. My body was freezing and Alice immediately took me to the doctor. They poked me with a bunch of needles, she said, but they got me better in no time.

"I was the first few kids who wound up in the orphanage. The others were Cora, Grady, Chip and Yukina. I got along fine with them, though I was the quietest. At least everyone knew how they got there. Chip and Grady's parents were killed in an accident, Grady's parents went missing during a sea storm, Yukina's parents were drug addicts and Chip's parents divorced and his dad took all the money with him, leaving him and his mother penniless. The mother can't afford to take care them both, so she left him there.

"And then, Vierra came. She lost her memory, I told you that, so she got really close with me. Then Jas, James and Sybill came not long after. Jas' lived with his single mother and she got really sick. James an Sybill's dad left for war and their mothers were the nurses there. They never returned.

"Ianna ran away from home when she was ten from her abusive parents and Azalea's parents kicked her out. They became best friends immediately, because of their similar fate. Same with James and Sybill. We became good friends, but my best friend was still Vierra.

"Then came Sinclair and Seymour..." Evia's voice suddenly trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Erza asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Evia replied.

"Did they do something to you?" Erza inquired, but Evia kept silent.

"Oh, I'm not supposed to ask you anything else," Erza said, a little disappointed.

"No no, I'm fine. It's just that... no, I'm supposed to tell you, I promised. So, uhm, let's just put it this way: everything changed at their arrival."

"How so?" asked Erza.

"Well, from the looks of them on the first day, you can tell that they are really up to no good. But strangely enough, only Sinclair was in the spotlight. Seymour disappeared somewhere in the building a few days after they came. They were twins but the only thing differenciating them was this slanted scar across the forehead. Sinclair had that, Seymour didn't. Sinclair had the looks and the personality, it was hard not to fall for him, I can tell you that."

Erza didn't need any further explanation for that.

"Sometimes I go to the library. It's just a small, stuffy room with all these children books in it. I was completely fine there, all peace and quiet. But after the twins came, I almost always felt as if I was being...watched.

Erza kept silent.

"Sinclair never paid any attention to me. He did to the other girls. He made them all part of his gang, except me and Vierra. He tried to make Vierra change her mind, but she refused. Somehow I think it was something that I did that made him like that, but I can't figure out what. I even delibrately cut myself on the forehead, but I was too scared to fully do it so I made one across my eyebrow, see? But that didn't work and I was too heartbroken to figure it out back then—" her face flushed red at the memory.

"—then again, Seymour almost never showed his face. Occasionally, Sinclair would go looking for him. He even went outside looking for him in the dead night. I suppose he was shy around strangers, too. I don't know much about Seymour. He's mysterious.

"Vierra stayed by my side, no matter how many times Sinclair tried to convince her. She couldn't understand his problem with me either and he wouldn't answer no matter how many times Vierra asked. He would sullenly walk away after that with his gang. Alice wasn't that much help either.

"A spell, that's possible right?" Erza suddenly piped up.

Evia shrugged. "I'm not sure. They do posses some magical powers but I don't think it's some sort of hypnosis."

Erza's eyes widened. "You never said that they possesed powers!"

"I didn't?" Evia said. "Oh, sorry. Yes, some of us do posses powers, others were late bloomers, or so we call them. I was one of the late bloomers, but even the late bloomers discovered their powers later on. I didn't at all."

Erza stared in amazement.

"One day, there was this travelling circus in town and Alice decided to buy us all a ticket for the show, telling us that we should bond. So I thought maybe that Alice had noticed all along and tried to do something about it. And then she..."

Erza was suddenly lost in thought, remembering the night where she first encountered Evia. In the distance, she heard a clown's horn. A clown belongs to the circus. She let out a small gasp. Could it be?

"Is something the matter, Erza?" Evia asked.

"I'm good, please continue," Erza said.

"Okay. So you know how circuses have all these different kinds of acts, like acrobats, elephants, magicians,..."

Erza was deep in thoughts again. The travelling circus... No, it was impossible! That was years ago, Erza didn't know how long, but it didn't seem likely. It must have been a coincidence. But why?

Evia's voice suddenly grew sombre. "And then came the stampede."

"Stampede?" Erza repeated.

Evia nodded sullenly. "I didn't know what happened, it was all so sudden. One minute we were enjoying a fire-eater act and the next minute, a guy was screaming 'Help! The animals have escaped!' and all of a sudden, a whole herd of animals came bursting in through the tent, their eyes red and mad with rage. Everyone panicked and tried to flee the situation immediately, but the animals were faster. Some were trampled, killed even. All of us tried to escape, but we were seperated along the way. I remember being surrounded by a lot of smoke and animal feet stomping all over the place. It was only then I realized that the whole circus tent was on fire. The scene...it was horrible. It was like watching a massacre. I saw bodies and flesh everywhere, fire burning every bits of them left. And then I—I saw—" Evia's whole body shook and shuddered as she felt fragments of the tragedy broke into the surface of her mind.

"Saw what, Evia?" Erza asked, trying not to sound demanding.

"Vierra..." Evia whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Vierra? What's wrong?"

"She—she was murdered, by a c-clown." Evia fell to her knees and trembled. "He grabbed onto her arm and pulled her somewhere, but she was fighting him, refusing to follow him somewhat and then he-he, stabbed her."

Erza's eyes widened in shock.

"Then he hauled her over her shoulders and carried her away. I can't see anything else after that, a giant flame burst in front of me and I was thrown back at them impact. Most of the animals were either suffocating or dead now, like the people. It was so horrible, I thought I was going to die there. I tfrantically looked for an exit somehwere, but my legs were badly burned and I tripped so many times. The fires just kep getting bigger and bigger and I was having difficulty breathing. My throat was parched and I thought I was going to di as weel, until...a miracle...happened..." Evia's voice trailed of yet again.

"What sort of miracle?" Erza asked.

"I—I really don't know. I was crouched on the ground, ready to take whatever fate had to offer. My thoughts were all scrambled. I was thinking of my friends back at the orphanage, my life when all this was going to be offer, water... And then, out of nowhere, a gush of water really did come. It was enourmous, it came crashing down in waves and I nearly drowned. The fire was immediately put out. When I came to, everything was burnt to bits. Charred remains were all that was left. I called out and went looking for other survivors, including my friends, but no one was there."

"You don't mean to say that—" Erza's question hung in the air.

"They were gone, all of them. I was the only one left," Evia mumbled.

Erza felt a sharp pang in her chest. Now she only felt guilt. So this is why Evia didn't want to tell.

"I'm sorry for forcing you into this," Erza apologized.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," Evia said, her tone somehwat sad. "It actually feels kind of good to let it off of my chest. I tried going back to the orphanage and live the rest of my life, but it was unearthly and disturbingly quiet. I still imagine all of them running around and pulling at each others hair, Vierra, Sinclair... I probably sound like a mother telling you this." She stopped short and chuckled. "Finally, I can't take any more of it and ran off. I kept running and running, not knowing where I was going. And then I ended up here. It's a nice little place. I like it. It takes me a while to adapt. Sometimes I would catch myself thinking of the circus fire and the waves and sometimes, without realizing it, I conjured it to reality. For a long time, I was struggling to control the fires and waters, nearly killing myelf at times. It wasn't long until I realized that I was the one creating everything, and it all come from my mind, my memories. So I battled them in order to get rid of them. It was one of the harder tasks in my life, and the memory wasn't completely erased of course. If it was, I wouldn't be telling you this. But it doesn't bother me that much anymore, I was able to put a stop to the disasters with a little practice. I still miss my firends terribly though, but there's nothing I can do to bring them back to life, so here I stayed for the next five years."

Erza nodded in sympathy and put an arm around Evia's shoulders. "How old are you?" she asked.

"I'm nineteen, I think," Evia replied. "I came here when I was just turning fourteen."

"It's been a long while, hasn't it?" Erza asked.

Evia nodded. "Yeah. I still miss them."

"Where do you live, exactly?"

"We're nearing it," she replied and went through a thicket. Erza followed her and came to a surprising sight.

"Welcome to my home," Evia announced as she climbed up the branches leading to a tree house, streaming with sunlight.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Kibble**

Erza stared up at the tree house. It was firmly built between two thick branches, the roof made out of thick, wide leaves and small and held up by pillar-like structures covered in thin vines.

Evia glanced up at her home with a smile and hopped up to one of the branches closest to the ground and scaled up the tree and made it to the tree house in no time. Erza gawked at her.

"What are you waiting for, Erza? Climb up!" Evia called out.

"Right right, coming!" Erza quickly replied and walked over to the tree. She placed one foot on the branch slowly, then pushed herself up. She carefully climbed up, brach after branch, steadily as to not lose her footing.

"That took you a while," Evia said as Erza struggled to get on her feet. Erza looked around. The view was amazing. The sun was high in the air and everything was glinting; the leaves, the puddles, the ripples from a nearby lake. She stomped the floorboards. They were sturdy enough.

"You made this yourself?" Erza asked in awe.

"Yup," Evia. "My own handiwork. Pretty cool, huh?"

Erza nodded.

"Kibble, here boy!" Evia called out, her voice slightly higher than normal. She whisteled out a peculiar tune and not long after, small rustling noises were heard and a series of chatters and squeaks responded.

"There you are, I've been looking for you!" Evia exclaimed happily as she cupped a furry little animal in her hands. The squeaks got louder and more cheerful.

"Is that Kibble?" Erza asked.

"Yeah!" Evia said excitedly and showed her hands to Erza. "Kibble, this is Erza. Erza, Kibble."

Erza peered at the animal. Kibble turned out to be nothing than a mere flying squirrel.

"He's your only friend here?" Erza asked.

"Well, there are other woodland animals but they don't come in these parts. This place is kind of hidden, I like it," Evia replied.

"Well, if this place is so secret, why not build a rope ladder?" Erza inqured.

"As if woodland animals is going to bother my sleep," Evia answered. "I can't be too laid back, thieves all around. They prowl during the day and hide in the night. I can't risk them finding this," Evia said, waving her arms about.

"Well, you certainly haven't think thing through carefully. How do you expect the thieves not to find this?" Erza asked, pointing at the tree house.

Evia was starting to get irritated again. "I told you, this place is hidden. I just can't risk anyone finding out. In fact, you're the first person that came here, with my permission of course. And you saw how those branches were? Don't try lying, I saw you struggle! That takes practice."

Erza was silenced.

"Now, for some food supplies," Evia mumbled to herself. Kibble chirped a squirelly chirp and bounded off into the trees. A few minutes later, he came back with lumpy cheeks.

Erza looked a little horrified. "What with his cheeks?"

"His food supply," Evia simply said.

Erza blinked. Evia sighed.

"Alright, we can go back now," she said and placed her footing onto the edges of the window. She righted herself and leapt down. Erza couldn't help but let out a small yelp but quickly clamped her mouth shut and looked down.

"Oi, are you crazy?" Erza yelled.

Evia looked up. "Why not? It's a whole lot faster. You try it!"

"No thanks, I don't intend on dying!" Erza called back and rushed down the tree. It was fairly easier than climbiing up, but it still took a while.

Evia rolled her eyes. "What did I tell you?"

They walked out of the clearing and unto the narrow path. This time, they're walk was silent. Kibble was peched on Evia's head and continued to chirp softly. Erza noticed Evia's hand as she brushed against some berry bushes, picked the fruit and popped them into her mouth while keeping a straight gaze.

It was either she was doing it unconciously or she was hypotized all of a sudden.

Evia noticed Erza staring and decided to offer her some. "Want them?"

Erza wrinkled her nose. "You expect to eat those? What if they're poisonous?" she asked stupidly.

Evia gave her a look.

Erza realized what she said a second later and slapped herself on the forehead. "I'm sorry, that was very stupid of me. Yes, I'll have one." She picked one of the berries in Evia's hand and inspected it. It was purplish-blue and had smooth surface, like most berries. She popped it into her mouth and tasted the sweet juice all arond her mouth.

"It's good," Erza commented. "You've seroiusly been living on this for five years?"

"I told you, I hunt once in a while," Evia said.

Erza nodded, and the walk back was silent again.

As well as the train ride back home to Magnolia. Evia had fallen asleep halfway across the trip, with Kibble nestled comfortably on her hair. Erza looked at them. They looked so peaceful. So was their talk in the woods.

Erza looked away. Maybe it was wrong for her to force her into the guild. But she didn't exactly forced her, didn't she? Evia did agree on joining, right? She slapped her forehead once more.

They made their way back to the guild and was greeted by everyone. Mirajane was especially the most happy and immediately dragged Evia into Makarov's office.

"So, how did it go?" asked a curious Natsu.

"Not bad. Not bad at all, I suppose," Erza replied.

"So what's her story then?"

Erza debated with herself whether she should tell them the whole thing, but then Evia's words rang in her head.

_Well, I did say you are all going to find out sooner or later..._

So Erza told them everything, or at least, what she can remember, from start to finish.

"Some history that girl's got," Natsu commented.

"That's what I thought too," Erza said. "Now all she's making me feel is guilty."

"Hey, don't blame yourself, Erza," comforted Lucy. "You didn't know."

"But that's the point!" Erza said. "I didn't know, so I pushed her."

Gray nodded. "Yeah, you were a little too hard on her."

Erza nodded and shook her shoulders back. "Alright then, from now on, I promise not to be hard on newcomers."

The others looked at her skeptically. Erza sighed and crossed her heart.

"Alright then," Gray said with a doubtful tone. "Just remember we're watching you. Don't try anything funny."

"Gosh Gray, of course I won't!" Erza said. "Besides, I bet it'll take a while for another newcomer to join us!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Natsu vs. Evia**

It's been a week since Evia first came to the guild and she still wasn't used to it. It was almost always rowdy and she couldn't get a single moment of peace. Kibble had run off somewhere to escape. Evia wanted to join him as well but she was scared that Erza would catch her and mistook it for running away.

"Are they always like this?" Evia asked Mirajane loudly as the guild got into another ruckus started by none other than Natsu and Gray.

"You bet," Mirajane replied. "But don't worry, you'll get used to it!"

Laxus came out of his room in a bad mood. Next to the commotion, he wasn't very happy due to the fact that Freed still hasn't found his SoundPod yet.

"I'm so sorry, Laxus," he lamented a while ago. "Please don't kill me!" He had even kneeled and sobbed right at his feet, much to Laxus' chagrin. And when he dismissed Freed, he rushed out the doors immediately, probably afraid of another pounding. He still wasn't back.

"Laxus, where's Freed?" asked Mirajane when he approached, sounding worried.

Laxus shrugged. "Hell am I supposed to know!"

Evia looked up and saw the muscular, blonde mage towering above her. She has never seen him around the guild, but he did look familiar. From the way he walked and talked, she can't tell if he stood out or not. But what was really prominent from him was his lightning shaped scar across his right eye. Mirajane had mentioned that the person who brought her here was muscular and blonde. Maybe it was him?

"Oh dear," Mirajane mumbled.

Laxus looked at the rumble going on between the guild members, stony faced. He'd like to get in the middle of it and punch each one of them in the face, but he's got more important things to do.

"Where's the rest of the Rajiinshu?" he asked.

"I think they left for a mission or something," Mirajane answered. Laxus' mood grew worse and stormed away. Mirajane feared he might break a table or two.

"Who was he?" Evia asked.

"That's Laxus," Mirajane explained. "He's the one whou brought you here the first time."

Ah, so her guess had been right!

When the noise finally died down, Evia heaved a huge sigh of relief but was surprised by the view in front of her; most of the guild members were passed out, eaither from exhaustion or being pounded too many times. There were only a few left standing, Natsu included.

"Gosh, are they alright?" Evia asked worriedly.

Mirajane nodded calmly, much to Evia's astonishment. How can anyone be so calm at this sort of situation?

Then again, Mirajane has been in the guild longer that she has.

"You guys are getting weaker and weaker by the day," Natsu commented with a cheeky grin. "I'm shocked."

"Is he always this cocky?" Evia whispered.

"Well, not exactly, but he is one of the strongest mages here," Mirajane said.

Evia stared at him. He was childish and reckless, she can tell by the way he acted. Yes, she has been observing the guild members throughout the whole week, though not all of them. Based on what she had seen, Erza was, of course, tough and a little unforgiving. Gray was cool and calm, just like his elemental power, Ice Make. Lucy and Wendy were almost always bubbly and cheerful. Happy, well, like his name, he's always happy, as opposed to Carla, who hardly ever shows any emotions. Levy is a down-to-earth bookworm, Gajeel is short-tempered but protective of Levy but Mirajane is by far the nicest one of all.

Natsu looked to the side and noticed Evia's ogling and grinned to himself. As fast as he had got up, he whizzed forward and grabbed Evia by the wrist, leading her outside. Mirajane looked up in shock. When Natsu unexpectedly drags someone out the guild like that, it can only mean one thing.

"Fight me!" Natsu bellowed.

Evia blinked. "What?"

"I said, fight me!" Natsu repeated. A crowd of Fairy Tail members was gathering around them and Evia suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Evia and Natsu were standing a good distance apart. Natsu was already in position, raising his flaming fist, while Evia just stood there, dumbstruck.

"Fight you? Why?"

"Because I want to," Natsu simply said. "Come on, how hard can it be?"

"But I don't want to fight you!" Evia protested.

"Eh? Why not?" Natsu asked.

"Because I don't fight my own comrades," she said. She had picked up the word from someone in the guild, though she can't tell who. She is a member of Fairy Tail and everyone else belonging there is definitely her comrade.

"Not even for practice?" Natsu asked.

Evia shook her head.

Natsu stared for a little while, then, to everyone's surprise, threw his head back and laughed. Evia jumped, obvioulsy startled.

"Well, too bad, now that you're here and all, you've got no choice," Natsu announced and with that he started his attack. "Fire Dragon's Roar!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Natsu opened his mouth wide and breathes out a long line of fire.

"Natsu, wait! Take it easy!" Mirajane cried out.

All of a sudden, Evia was paralyzed. Her eyes widened, sweat dripped down her forehead and palms and her arms and legs weren't listening to the orders her brain was giving. She couldn't run away, she was frozen with fear. And to make matters worse, the fireball was coming closer and closer at breakneck speed.

Fire, was all she can think of. Fire...

"Evia! Do something!" Levy screamed.

Evia squeezed her eyes shut and ducked. Images of her past swirled around her head. Almost instantly, she felt the strong waves of water splashed above her. Her eyes sprang open but everything in front of her was fuzzy, but she saw the other guild members being thrown about in the water as well. She started panicking and kicked around the water to get to the surface while struggling to clear her head. It wasn't an easy task, but as soon as her head broke the surface, she took a huge gulp of air and the waters went down. Everyone, she noticed, were sprawled all over the ground, sputtering and coughing.

"Oh geez, were you trying to kill us?" Gray choked out.

"Me?" Evia protested again. "Blame it on him!" She pointed at Natsu, who was still trying to catch his breath.

"You could've used some other counter attack," Gray said.

"It's like I can help it!" Evia said impatiently.

"Wow, that was one of the best attacks yet!" Natsu yelled, bouncing back to his feet. His fist was flaming again. "Now I'm all fired up!"

Evia shook her head wildly. "No, I'm out!" And with that, she sprang up and ran off in the direction of town.

"Hey!" Gray yelled and went to chase after her, but a hand stopped him.

"Leave it," a voice said. Gray turned around and saw Erza staring at Evia's disappearing back.

"What are you doing?" Gray complained. "First you were all upset that she ran off and you had to keep guard and now you're letting her go?"

"She has an unconditional fear of fire," Erza said plainly.

Gray pulled a face.

"It's like she can help it, Gray. Her past was tragic, didn't you hear?" Erza said.

Gray was silent for a minute, then spoke up again. "Then why'd you let her go?"

"It's like she has anywhere to go around here," Erza said. "She comes from Hargeon, not Magnolia. She'll have to come back."

"She can run to the train station and go back."

Erza shook her head. "She doesn't have any jewels on her. Even train tickets cost something."

Gray stared at Erza with amazement.

"I trust her," Levy suddenly piped up. "I bet she'll come back. I mean, she never wanted to attack Natsu in the first place. She considered him her comrade already. I'm sure she'll return."

Evia wasn't heading to town. She was heading for the woods.

Even though she knew it wasn't the same like Hargeon Woods, the forest was the only place where she can find comfort, peace and quiet. Hopefully she won't run into the old woman again.

She came across a small oak tree and rested there. She must've fallen asleep for a few hours because when she woke up, the sun was already starting to set. She got up and stretched a little bit before proceeding to walk out of the woods. Before she can make it a few steps, she tripped.

"Oof!" she cried. Luckily the ground was soft so she didn't scab her knees. However, something near the rocks caught her attention. It looked like two flattened circles with a spike sticking out of each of them. Curiously, she picked them up and discovered that a cable was conected to both discs. It turned out to be a set of headphones, though she didn't know it.

What are these, I wonder? She wondered. Maybe Mirajane would know.

Heading back to the guild with the headphones in hand, Evia wondered how everyone would react. She had disappeared from the guild three times in a row now. She shouldn't be surprised if they decided to tighten the security.

But then again, Erza didn't come after her. Why was that? Could it be that she was just waiting for her to come back and give her a good pounding?

Evia shuddered at the thought. Her steps were getting slower and slower. Going back seemed somewhat dreadful.

"Evia! Where have you been?" Natsu exclaimed when she set foot in the guild. "Sorry for forcing on a fight before!"

In truth, everyone was pretty pleased to see her, surprisingly Erza as well. Evia had never felt so relieved.

"Hey Mirajane, can I ask you something?" she asked when the others had gone back to their own businesses.

"Sure, what's up?" Mirajane replied, smiling.

"Well, I was in the woods before and I found these." She showed Mirajane the headphones.

Mirajane let out a gasp. "Those are Laxus' headphones!"

"Where?" a thunderous voice boomed. In seconds, Laxus was standing right in front of them.

Evia started to shake as he handed Laxus the headphones. He looked at her for a while and quickly snatched them from her but as he did so, a surge of electricity flowed down his arm and electrocuted Evia.

She screamed in uttermost pain as a bright yellow aura enveloped her. Laxus quickly jerked his arm away and the screaming soon stopped. Evia lied on the floor completely motionless.

"Evia!" everyone started to gather around her and poking and proding her to make sure she's alive.

"Oh my God, is she dead?" Wendy cried as she kneeled next to Evia.

"What'd you do that for?" Erza demanded Laxus.

"I didn't do it on purpose, geez!" Laxus bellowed.

"Then why'd you do it?" Erza asked again.

"It was an accident! I don't know!" Laxus yelled.

"Guys, guys calm down. Let's just carry her to her room and rest," Mirajane said and proceeded to carry her up with help from the guys.

"You really did it this time, Laxus," Natsu muttered.

Laxus flew to a rage. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Natsu said nothing.

"You bastard, why you—" Laxus raised his fist and went ahead to punch Natsu.

"Laxus, enough!" a voice called out. It was Makarov's.

"Don't do anymore damage then you already have," Makarov continued.

"I'm telling you, old man, I didn't do it on purpose!" Laxus raged.

Makarov nodded. "Yes, but there's no need to pulverize anyone to believing you."

Laxus struggled to keep his anger in control. In the end, he just stormed out of the guild.

"Geez, Laxus never managed to control his temper, huh?" Natsu said to himself. "I wonder if Evia's gonna be alright?"


End file.
